Japanese shipping company NYK Line has named a dual-fuel vessel capable of running on LPG in Japan.

The naming ceremony 86,938 m3 capacity vessel, Lucent Pathfinder, took place at the Sakaide Works of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, NYK Line said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

The Lucent Pathfinder will be chartered to UAE-based BGN INT DMCC and is capable of transporting ammonia and LPG.

It is the seventh dual-fuel LPG carrier ordered by NYK.

LPG remains a niche alternative bunker fuel for now, being used almost exclusively in gas carriers.

The global LPG-fuelled fleet is currently made up of 141 ships, with 91 more expected to be delivered by 2028, according to classification society DNV data. Of the current fleet, 138 ships are LPG carriers.

“When LPG is used as fuel, emissions of sulfur oxides (SOx) in exhaust gases are reduced by more than 95%, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are cut by over 20% compared to conventional heavy fuel oil,” NYK said.